co:create

CO:CREATE is a design project located in the west Malaysia, Perak, Sitiawan. intending to brought up the realisation of people in the west sea of Malaysia, in Perak to understand its site potential to upgrade themselves holistically with the site through programmes and building design intentions.
CO:CREATE is a hybrid between cohabitation and creation between human and non-human. The project is dissected into 3 main parts. The analysing of site, the hypothetical realisation of site, and design intervention to fit in with my intentions.
For the site synergy, I’m focusing on the special characteristic on the transportation fabric of sitiawan which it has its each intersection point that showing distinctive characteristic leading the people into the site. Along the fabric from the urban town area to the suburban area, each intersection point has a distinctive characteristic affecting the surrounding neighbourhood forming a design node. I divide the nodes into 3 subtopics respective to its value which is merging crossing and diverging.
The merging element of shows the faint cultural mix at the intersection point: - the crossroad. In this intersection, there is some faint cultural exchange between the Malay and Chinese as there is a obvious change in demographic within this point onwards.
The crossing element is where people tend to pass by the intersection point with no significant heritage value. This usually apply to all crossroad on a route. It serves as a changing of direction according to the user’s path finding, and it serves as a directional guide.
The diverging elements I found out within the site area is where two different culture is diverge through the interventions of swiftlets farming at the year of 2000 that disconnect the main road to the township. This creates huge disadvantage to the site where eventually causing it to have its rural attribute. But the divergence has also brought up more cultural divergence to the users as well, hoping them to have a better acceptance towards different culture.

Well for my layerings of thoughts for the site, I realised that Economic disparity swiftlet farming is becoming a trade in Sitiawan and had cause the disparity of the social economy and cultural. an obviously of economy sector difference and races in residential created diverging effect. This is mainly due to the swiftlet farming that could be trace back then, but this issue has disclosed the most important vehicular access during that time causing the decreasing activity that leads to an unused rural area. accommodations for the humans now have become a space for the swiftlet’s accommodation. The issue does not just end here, the swiftlets had partially caused the disclosed of cultural influences between races, it had also caused a lot of pollution. For example:-noise and hygiene. Which eventually cause the economic to fall within the site. Ironically, the swiftlets were at first breed to brought up the economic for the businessman but had cause a bigger impact towards the site than it may seems.
The other layering of thought for the site is that the weak foundations of the site given its effect of lack of cultural associates where people tend to live in their comfort zone. the mirror effect represents the exactly and its possibilities. The difference in culture also causes the difference in idealism which leads to the splitting of social value where human activities are staggered. The mirror effect is a thought of people reflecting themselves for the issue among themselves. One might go through much suffer but couldn’t be understand by anyone else, or might be, didn’t want anybody to understand themselves. This is the mere truth of the lack of culture within a person. Where people stressed out but do not have any ways to relieve it.
The hypothetical solution for the despair of the current state of Sitiawan is the realisation of me collocating the layers, to form a better solution to free their mental being.
The collocation layer is the hypothetical solution for symbiosis and Co habitation between human and nonhuman where I tend to introduce a new element that could bring two different cultures together by sharing thought and idealism that can eventually influence the whole site holistically and bring sustainable effect.
Introducing a new culture which is animal cultural help in the cross culture between different culture in sitiawan to allow local to learn and intimate from the animal’s behaviour to decrease the social barrier one of my main animal would be swiftlet. Swiftlet is a big issue happening in sitiawan although the place is famous with its swiftlet farming and retailing it also one of the main causes that causes the environmental impact and social impact that she has given to the site.

Later then, I further developed the potential development for the site by dissecting the site into 3 main sites. The site A for merging elements, Site B for crossing elements, and Site C for divergence elements.
To make the hypothetical solution works, I introduced a new culture: - animal culture within them hoping to burst out hope, to grow roots within the mind of the locals; to rewild the site using permaculture design for potential animals from the site to solve the issue of sustainable approach.
Creating with animals and engaging the public through design communication will make nature more accessibility in an urban area. Also, providing urban refugee for animals and create opportunities for the public to care about animals in their need.
The animal culture does not come from empty minded. It is a solution to create communication for the locals by using the item that had disperse them initially:- Swiftlets.
The first step is by rewarding the animals in the site by building animal training centre that train animals’ behaviour so that they can stay together with the human at Site A.
For site B, the urban strategy Is to create a microbiome foster for elderly care centre and childcare centre. The strategy is by building an Orchard to attract more bits Anne worms into the microbiome.
Site C Respond to the previous interventions and fishing village by having Bazaar an market and feeding areas for the animals and human activities true programme developing.

As for my building intervention: - CO: CREATE, my building intention is to create a media to connect both culture in the site, to induce behaviour improvement an implant into their new idealism and mindset to connect the whole site holistically. By having the same idealism towards the goods for ecosystem and animals. Using animals to open up both culture as more acceptance to one another I intend to respond to the site where initially swiftlets are the main cause that causes diverges of both culture while using the same element as a media to create opportunity to connect culture together.
The design is to explore where to equitably address humans and animals needs in share spaces through creation approach that has not been done yet. Co-creations with animals involved participation from both the designers and animals in the design process the approach is more complicated than creating for animals because instead it is about creating with animals.
The swiftlet and pets are the main priority in the building to have a better control, but all animal within the site are welcome with some safety measurements.
In my defence, animal can bring great advantages building cross culture and creating a mutual beneficial and dynamic relationship influenced by behaviours are essential to health and wellbeing despite in different race. As the animal human bond has evolved throughout the time it makes sense to think that it will continue to develop as a relationship before share with different animals also change the health beneficial of owning a companion animal and interacting with different types of working animals of making major impacts in the lives of so many people.

My building programme can be categorised into three main parts which is hardware which foster for mental wellbeing, hardware for swiftlet farming showing the cohabitation with human and community to raise the awareness of animal human bond.
The building is then categorized into 3 blocks of units with each block fosters for different programs and intention. Block A response to the fishing village nearby and serve as a platform for the interactions of different groups of users. the programme installed in the building raise awareness of the importance of social community as well as nature wildlife Cohabitation. as having the sense of cohabitation is as much crucial as strengthening of social skill. This building raises the awareness of one mindset towards the importance of social skills and directly raise awareness of the animals extinction issue.

Block B respond to the big flock of swiftlet community in the fabric of Sitiawan the usage of swiftly as the main component in the building brings new technologies of a new programme to communicate and interact with people. Swiftlet is the root of causing diverging of social interaction between Chinese and Malay so using its special identity as the bonding element to create a bonding back into the Chinese and Malay community is the whole reason for the bonding communication to work.
Where swiftlet tend to be hard to control and organised, a series of mechanism create opportunity for the swiftlet to enter and stay in the desired habitat by having tall chimneys as a part of the building. The programme install also create economic benefit to the community which create mutualism relationship that strengthen the core value of animals and human cohabitation. Block C responds to the great fabric of Sitiawan to help in therapy for the targeted user. Where did depressions can find inner peace with the help of animals while creating bonds with the nature hence increasing the core value towards wellbeing.

The Chimney is the main component for the swiftlet, it is design as a tall tower to invite flying swiftlet into the cave below the ground for the habitation. It integrates into living spaces and differentiate the pathing for both human and non-humans. While the tall structure of block A and C are mimicking the form of chimney that create a similar language. Also, The interconnection between blocks are for circulation excess and linkage between programmes
Last but not least, CO: CREATE is an hypothetical attempt to brings up economic and cultural benefits to the site, where this module can eventually puts into different places to test the effect of swiftlets arrangement and such.

Due to current condition of mco(movement control order) in Malaysia, the information gathered were mostly from internet and google maps for the site conditions. The information might be off and inaccurate but the research is just as intense as it may seem due to the undeveloped site condition.